As per a recent survey conducted by Impact, nearly 69% of B2B firms have established their value propositions. However, when it comes to joint collaborative efforts, challenges in the form of an improper understanding of audience needs, differentiated joined-up benefits, and inadequate quantitative data – loom large.
As for joint value propositions, these are statements drafted by both parties that clearly define the features of products/services that customers will enjoy. These are pieces of information that set the product apart from its competition.
While speaking of joint value propositions in Channel Marketing, it is imperative to align team members from both organizations with strategizing, brainstorming and joint key messaging to help arrive at common goals.
The pillars of a killer joint value proposition involve collaboration, co-operation, and translation. The process of developing a joint value proposition not only emphasizes the power of a partnership, but also clarifies the solution being offered and makes it more accessible to its target audience.
But how can business tap into this opportunity and collaborate to come up with strong value propositions? Let’s find out!
5 Essential Tips to Draft a Strong Joint Value Proposition
A joint value proposition is the fundamental reason why a customer should avail a product/service from a partnership. It is essential for enabling your entire business ecosystem to determine what value it should deliver – product development and customer service; and what value it should be communicating – advertising agency, marketing department, among others.
The process of creating joint value propositions by channel sales managers and channel marketing partners helps bring everyone together in terms of aligning vision and messaging with the customers. This approach leads both parties on the sales and marketing roadmaps together, identifying unique and compelling features of the joint solutions.
To discover the secrets to thriving in the dynamic world of partnerships, watch this video from Carrie Steyer, Chief Customer Officer at 66degrees, sharing her #1 tip for forging successful partnerships with hyperscalers. Drawing from her extensive experience, she unveils a key ingredient that can elevate your partnership strategies within the channel ecosystem. Watch Now!
Here are some strategies to develop killer joint value propositions that can help channel partners with their joint selling efforts and connect more with their audience groups.
1. Aligning Goals and Objectives
Clear goals and objectives provide a shared understanding and purpose for all parties involved in a joint value proposition. They serve as a roadmap, guiding collaborative efforts towards a common destination.
Here are some steps that both companies can consider while aligning their goals and forming a joint value proposition.
a. Define a Shared Vision:
A good reference point to start with can be a joint vision that clearly outlines the desired future state resulting from the partnership. This vision should point out the outright benefits, outcomes, and impact that the joint value proposition is willing to achieve. It must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
b. Opt for a Joint Assessment:
Consider performing a thorough assessment involving the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) of both parties. This will help in identifying areas of expertise, complementary capabilities, potential challenges – allowing the creation of goals that can capitalize on teamwork and synergies and tackle possible risks.
c. Assign Responsibility and Accountability:
Clearly assign responsibility and accountability for each goal and objective. Define roles, responsibilities, and expectations for both the companies involved, ensuring that everyone apprehends their contributions and how they will be evaluated.
2. Identifying Customer Challenges and Pain Points
In the realm of B2B partnerships and collaborations, marketers and other decision-makers must have a detailed understanding of the customers’ pain points and shortcomings. By identifying these key issues, businesses can align their collaborative efforts to offer effective solutions, boost customer satisfaction, and drive long-term success.
Identifying and analyzing customer challenges allow businesses to differentiate themselves from the competition. Joint value propositions can stand out in a crowded market with unique solutions towards customers’ pain points leading to increased customer loyalty.
The following are some strategies to spot some possible customer challenges while preparing a joint value proposition.
a. Conduct In-Depth Market Research:
Start with comprehensive market research to acquire insights into the industry, customer demands, and target audiences. Various reference points like data from surveys, interviews, and focus groups among others, can be utilized. This approach will help identify the common challenges, trends, and hiccups coming along customers’ day-to-day operations.
b. Indulge in Active Listening:
Aim for direct interactions with customers in the form of sales meetings, feedback mechanisms, and customer support channels. Keep a close eye on the language they speak, the grievances they express, and the problems that they describe. These conversations can be essential pieces of information highlighting the challenges and pain points of customers.
c. Monitor Industry and Market Trends:
Stay updated about the market trends that directly impact customers. Modifications and changes in emerging technologies or evolving business models can introduce new challenges and pain points. Staying ahead of these trends can actively anticipate customer needs and introduce relevant solutions into drafting joint value propositions.
3. Highlighting Major USPs of Products
In a competitive market, highlighting product USPs in joint value propositions can help differentiate the partnership from the competition. By showcasing unique features, benefits, and qualities, businesses can tap into the attention of potential customers and establish themselves as innovative and industry leaders. The USPs can act as solutions that directly cater to customer needs, demonstrating the value that the partnership brings to the forefront.
Listed below are some steps to adopt while listing product USPs and ways to include them in strategizing for a joint value proposition.
a. Clearly Define Benefits:
Transform the product USPs into clear and compelling benefits for customers. Focus on how these benefits can address customer pain points, improve efficiency, enhance performance, provide unique advantages, and reduce costs. Clearly articulate the tangible outcomes that customers can expect from leveraging the joint value proposition.
b. Collaborate on USP Selection:
Engage in collaborative sessions for jointly selecting the most-relevant and impactful product USPs among organizations. Assess the strengths and benefits of each product and identify how they complement each other to devise a cohesive value proposition. By jointly determining the USPs, both the organizations can align their key messaging and ensure consistency across all communication channels.
c. Provide Proof Points:
Back the highlighted USPs with evidence and proof points. Include case studies, customer testimonials, and other datasets that highlight the effectiveness and impact of the products. This set of evidence builds credibility, instills confidence, and validates the joint proposition being presented.
4. Brainstorming and Collaborative Value Creation
Collaborative value creation is a strategic process that involves engaging multiple stakeholders to generate ideas, insights, and solutions that deliver exceptional value to customers. Meanwhile, joint brainstorming sessions help to challenge assumptions, explore new paths, and offer potential means of collaboration. All these methods help to achieve a killer joint value proposition that represents a shared understanding of the value to be offered to customers.
Here are some steps to make brainstorming sessions and collaborative value creation effective for drafting joint value propositions.
a. Encourage Creativity:
Use techniques like mind-mapping, role-playing, and scenario planning to stimulate creativity and encourage ‘out-of-the-box' thinking. Develop an atmosphere where participants feel free to come up with unconventional ideas.
b. Embrace Diversity:
Make sure that brainstorming sessions include representatives from different functional areas – marketing, sales, operations, and finance, among others. Diverse backgrounds will only enrich the discussion and pave way to more innovative ideas.
c. Foster a Collaborative Environment:
Create a safe and inclusive space where all participants feel comfortable contributing their ideas and perspectives. Encourage open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback.
5. Measurement and Continuous Improvement
Measurement serves as the foundation for evaluating the effectiveness and impact of a joint value proposition. It enables organizations to track progress, identify areas of improvement, and make data-driven decisions. By establishing clear metrics and performance indicators, businesses can gain insights into the value being delivered, customer satisfaction levels, and the overall success of the collaboration.
Look at some key strategies for measurement and continuous improvement in developing a joint value proposition.
a. Define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
Identify the specific KPIs that align with the joint value proposition and the desired outcomes. These metrics could include revenue growth, customer acquisition, customer retention, market share or customer satisfaction ratings. Each organization involved in the collaboration should contribute to defining the relevant KPIs to ensure transparency and shared accountability.
b. Implement Tracking Mechanisms:
Put in place robust tracking mechanisms to gather data on the defined KPIs. This may involve leveraging customer relationship management (CRM) systems, analytics tools, or implementing customized reporting dashboards. The data collected should be timely, accurate and easily accessible to all stakeholders involved.
c. Regular Performance Reviews:
Schedule periodic performance reviews to assess the progress of the joint value proposition against the defined KPIs. These reviews should involve representatives from both organizations and provide an opportunity to discuss challenges, successes, and areas for improvement. By fostering open communication, organizations can iterate and refine their joint value proposition based on real-time feedback.
Summing Up
The approach of joint value propositions has great potential for channel partners and manufacturing partners to function successfully. Engaging it with proper brainstorming sessions, elongated discussions, and a formal method of collaboration can do wonders for B2B businesses, ensuring that it is future-proof, fully aligned with customer needs, and detrimental in growing sales.
In this regard, a dedicated agency can help businesses in curating a joint value proposition by playing a major role in merging partners for Channel Marketing success. With years of experience in through-partner and with-partner channel marketing programs, we, at HSV Digital can help in building joint value proposition, accumulating insights, igniting creativity, and drafting content that can help you and your partners to drive strategic alliances and co-selling opportunities.
To know more about how we can help develop join value propositions for your channel marketing efforts, contact us today.
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